The laundry treating apparatus may include a washing machine to remove contaminants from the laundry, a drying machine to dry the laundered laundry, and a clothes handler to remove the absorbed smell from the laundry and to wrinkle the garment.
Specifically, a washing machine or a drying machine generally includes a body having a laundry receiving hole defined in its front surface portion and a drum mounted therein, and a door that pivotally connects to the body to open and close the laundry receiving hole. The door is hinge-coupled to the left or right edge of the laundry receiving hole, and pivotally coupled thereto about a vertical axis, depending on the location of the washing machine or the drying machine.
Since the installation position of the washing machine or the drying machine is not fixed, the coupling structure between the door and the body is designed by selectively connecting the hinge, which is the pivot center of the door, to either the left edge or the right edge of the laundry receiving hole.
Prior art 1 discloses a configuration in which the door can be pivoted clockwise or counterclockwise by 180 degrees to change the position of the handle and hinge of the door in the opposite direction.
In prior art 2, a plurality of hinge structures are formed at the edge of the laundry receiving hole to allow selection of the pivot shaft of the door.
However, in the case of the prior art 1, there is a restriction that only when the shape and structure of the door are symmetrical with respect to the horizontal line passing through the center of the door, the hinge position of the door may be changed. That is, only when the shape of the door glass protruding to the rear of the door is symmetrical with respect to the horizontal line, it is possible to change the pivot shaft of the door by rotating the door 180 degrees clockwise.
Further, in the case of prior art 2, to change the pivot shaft of the door, the hinge structures are mounted on all of the plurality of points at which the pivot shaft is intended to be installed. Therefore, not only the manufacturing cost is increased but also the vertical load is excessively applied to the front panel in which the laundry receiving hole is defined.
Further, in the case of the door coupled to a conventional laundry treating apparatus, since the hinge assembly is fixed to the door rear surface by a fastening boss, the load of the door is concentrated on the fastening boss, and thus door sagging phenomenon and door breakage phenomenon frequently occur.
Prior Art 1: Korean Patent Application Publication No. 10-2006-0100682 (Sep. 21, 2006)
Prior Art 2: Korean Patent Publication Application No. 10-2015-0131532 (Nov. 25, 2015)